Communities rally to raise more than £125,000 for West Midlands wildfire victims

Communities in the West Midlands are “rallying together” to support wildfire victims, with more than £125,000 raised through online appeals.

The money is being donated to those affected by major blazes in Stourbridge, Birmingham, Pershore and Stoke-on-Trent.

Wildfires ravaged across areas of the UK this week as temperatures soared and the hottest day of the year was recorded.

The Heart of England Community Foundation launched an emergency appeal on Friday evening to co-ordinate support for affected families.

As of Saturday morning, the charity supporting communities across the West Midlands and Warwickshire, has raised more than £50,000.

Chief executive Tina Costello said all money raised will be distributed to those affected by the fires.

She told the Press Association: “As the community foundation for the West Midlands and Warwickshire, we felt it was the right thing to do to start a campaign.”

Ms Costello, who has been with the organisation for 20 years, said they are “in a position to raise money and deliver it really quickly”.

She added: “What’s really important is that this money goes to the people and the families that are affected and impacted by it.

“So tomorrow (Monday) we’ll be linking it with key agencies in the area to actually find out what kind of support is needed.”

Asked how the region has been affected, she said: “I would say people are feeling genuinely sad. They’ve lost everything.”

Ms Costello added that “the communities are rallying together”.

In Stourbridge in the Dudley borough, more than £20,690 has been raised across three appeals for families who have lost their homes in the wildfires.

Six separate appeals have been set up for families who have lost their homes on Gorleston Road in Birmingham, with more than £32,000 raised as of Saturday morning.

A fundraiser for those affected by the fires in Pershore, Worcestershire, has raised more than £11,700 so far, while an appeal in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, has collected more than £11,100.

The GoFundMe appeals describe the devastation caused to families, with many losing pets in the fires.

Earlier this week, Dudley Borough Council warned residents to remain “vigilant” when donating to fundraising campaigns after being made aware of fake pages shared online.

GoFundMe has also offered guidance on how to spot fake fundraising pages, including carefully checking web addresses to ensure financial contributions are made via legitimate platforms, and donating to platforms with a donor guarantee so that money can be refunded if something is not right.

Donors should also consider who told them about the fundraiser, and are advised to contact customer care teams if there is any uncertainty.

Residents evacuated after a wildfire in Stourbridge have started returning to their homes as firefighters continue tackling ongoing blazes across the UK.

Dudley Borough Council said in an update on Sunday that eight families whose houses have been destroyed by the fires have been able to view their properties.

Some 13 households whose properties were partially damaged in the blazes have been able to return, chief executive Balvinder Heran said in a residents’ briefing.

West Midlands Fire Service said it has been able to “significantly lift” cordons in the area as a further 85 evacuated households whose properties were unaffected returned to their homes.

In the update, Ms Heran asked locals not to “speculate” about the cause of the blaze while investigations continue.

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